Monday, August 31, 2015

Tyler Rogoway has written another interesting article on the Air Defense System that surrounds Washington, DC in the aftermath of 9/11.

Washington DC and the region around it sits under highly monitored restricted airspace, known as the Washington DC Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). As you fly closer to the center of this zone, the restrictions become increasingly intense, with the areas over the National Mall and the National Observatory being totally restricted to civilian and commercial aircraft.

Washington D.C. is a fast moving place, and for those in the very top echelons of power, both time and security trump cost efficiency when it comes to transportation. The Department Of Defense has trio of helicopter squadrons ready to fly these VIPs around the region, and to safety should something catastrophic ever occur.

The three squadrons covered are the US Army 12th Aviation Battalion, the US Air Force 1st Helicopter Squadron, and the US Marine Corps HMX-1 VIP Transport Squadron.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Tanks on a freight train shortly after its arrival at a railway station in the southern Russian town of Matveev Kurgan, near the Russian-Ukrainian border in Rostov region, May 26, 2015. (Reuters photo)

The Russian military has begun reviving its old Soviet-era armored trains, a Czech Republic newspaper reported Friday. The revelation, which was hinted at earlier this month when the Russian minister of defense said that four of the armored trains could be recommissioned, is part of Russia's $400 billion project to modernize and expand its military.

Friday, August 28, 2015

STUNNING VIDEO: A F-22 Raptor and F-16 Viper did a flyover New York City Thursday. They flew by One World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty, and several other landmarks. http://7ny.tv/1hj6RBs. The planes were making their way to the New York Air Show.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

By Donny Jackson (Urgent Communications)
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rockwell Collins yesterday announced plans for ARINC UrgentLink, a nationwide high-frequency (HF) radio network that is designed to provide communications between public-safety and critical-infrastructure entities when local terrestrial networks have been destroyed by a man-made or natural disaster.
UrgentLink utilizes spectrum allocated for maritime use, but it can be used on land during times of disaster, when normal communication infrastructure is inoperable, according to Dave Chapman, product manager for Rockwell Collins.
“We believe it’s the first purpose-built network for disaster response with nationwide coverage,” Chapman said. “We’ve developed a system and a network that allows people to communicate using HF radios instead of traditional land mobile radios in disasters like this—and we made it easy.”
Because of the propagation characteristics of the spectrum, HF radio has long been used as a method to communicate across vast distances, but it traditionally was the domain of amateur-radio operators licensed by the FCC. By using automatic link establishment (ALE) technology, the Rockwell Collins system lets HF radio can be used by anyone, Chapman said.
“[With ALE], the radios are constantly talking to each other to determine the optimal frequency to use the next time the next time they place the call,” he said. “Instead of the traditional way that ham radio uses, it’s kind of one-touch calling, so that anybody can use it—it doesn’t take a specialization or an FCC license to do so.
“That allows emergency managers, police officers, hospital administrators or anybody to reach outside a disaster zone and report what they need—after-response help and things like that—as well as talk to peers and other customers who use this service within the disaster zone.”
Rockwell Collins currently has a pilot HF network with a large sheriff’s department and is in discussions to deploy other pilot systems, Chapman said. The company plans to offer commercial HF service within a year that will not require customer maintenance, he said.
“We’re going to run this as a service, similar to having a cell phone,” Chapman said. “We will supply them with a radio that will work on the UrgentLink network, then Rockwell Collins will go out and do the install and manage it.”
“[Customers will] pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee that gives you access to the network and the services that come with it.”
With the service, UrgentLink customers will be able to communicate directly with each other, or they can communicate with others outside the HF system by contacting the Rockwell Collins operations center in Annapolis, Md.
“You can talk between UrgentLink radio customers, but you can also reach the outside world,” Chapman said. “You may want to use the HF radio to send us an e-mail at the Rockwell Collins center, and we can forward it to wherever you want—or you can send us text messages or call us, and have us patch you through. The operation center can also do things like make a broadcast.”
In 2012, 911 solutions provider Intrado announced an initiative to establish a commercial HF network that would provide disaster communications, but Intrado abandoned the concept and relinquished its rights to the maritime spectrum, Chapman said. The spectrum owner turned to Rockwell Collins, which has deployed and operated HF systems for the government and the military for years, he said.
“Essentially, they needed a company with the heft and breadth of experience in HF to do this right, so they sought us out and that’s what we’ve done,” Chapman said.
Last year, Rockwell Collins purchased ARINC—a company with a strong reputation as a provider of customer-facing HF gear—which positioned it well to pursue the UrgentLink initiative, given Rockwell Collins’ expertise in operating the backend equipment and software for HF systems, Chapman said.
“ARINC has such a strong brand name in some of the markets that we’re in that we’re still using the ARINC name as part of the product that we’re offering, but it’s a Rockwell Collins company offering,” he said.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

In case you have not heard Navy Marine Corps MARS will soon be no more. From their official website at http://www.navymars.org/

Effective 2359Z 30 Sep 2015 Navy-Marine Corps MARS will be disbanded. This web site will close down sometime during the day of the 30th.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM Chief MARS:-

R 122030Z MAY 2015
FM CHNAVMARCORMARS WILLIAMSBURG VA
TO ALNAVMARCORMARS
INFO ZEN/CHIEF ARMY MARS FT HUACHUCA AZ
ZEN/CHIEF AIR FORCE MARS SCOTT AFB IL
BT
UNCLAS
SUBJ/TRANSITION OF NAVY MARINE CORPS MARS (MILITARY AUXILIARY RADIO
SYSTEM PROGRAM//
REF/A/PHONECON/NCTAMS LANT/NAVIDFOR/FCC-C10F/STRATCOM/08 MAY 2015//
REF/B/DODI 4650.2/MILITARY AUXILIARY RADIO SYSTEM (MARS)//
REF/C/DODD 3025.18/DEFENSE SUPPORT OF CIVIL AUTHORITIES//
RMKS/1. IAW REF A, NAVAL COMPUTER AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS AREA MASTER
STATION ATLANTIC (NCTAMS LANT) INTENDS TO WORK WITH U.S. ARMY MARS
AND U.S. AIR FORCE MARS IN TRANSITIONING THE NAVY MARINE CORPS MARS
(NAVMARCORMARS) PROGRAM BY 30 SEP 2015. THE INTENT OF THE TRANSITION
IS TO BEST ALIGN THE PROGRAM TO SUPPORT NATIONAL MISSION
REQUIREMENTS.
2. EVALUATION OF THE NAVMARCORMARS PROGRAM BY FLEET CYBER COMMAND
(FCC)/COMMANDER 10TH FLEET (C10F), NAVAL INFORMATION DOMINATION
FORCES (NAVIDFOR), AND NCTAMS LANT DETERMINED THAT THERE ARE NO U.S.
NAVY SERVICE UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS.
3. NCTAMS LANT WILL WORK WITH OTHER U.S. NAVY, U.S. ARMY, U.S. AIR
FORCE, U.S. STRATEGIC COMMAND, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
REPRESENTATIVES, AND NAVMARCORMARS VOLUNTEERS TO DEVELOP A TRANSITION
PLAN FOR NAVMARCORMARS MEMBERS WHICH MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF REF B
AND REF C.
4. CURRENT NAVMARCORMARS INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS AND CLUBS ARE ENCOURAGED
TO BEGIN SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS TO U.S. ARMY MARS OR U.S. AIR
FORCE MARS PROGRAMS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. U.S. ARMY MARS MEMBERSHIP
CAN BE REQUESTED AT
HTTP://WWW.USARMYMARS.ORG/RESOURCES/APPLICATIONS-AND-FORMS AND U.S.
AIR FORCE MARS MEMBERSHIPS INFORMATION CAN BE REQUESTED VIA E-MAIL TO
38CYRS.SCM.MARS@US.AF.MIL.
5. ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE WILL ALSO BE PROVIDED SEPCOR FOR MARS STATIONS
UNDER MILITARY AUSPICES, AGENCY STATIONS, AND INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS WHO
ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE DHS SHARED RESOURCES (SHARES) HF RADIO
PROGRAM.
6. AT A MINIMUM, FUTURE NOTICES WILL BE PROVIDED VIA CHIEF,
NAVMARCORMARS MESSAGE. OTHER MEDIA WILL BE IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THE
TRANSITION COMMUNICATIONS PLAN.
7. THE U.S. NAVY GREATLY APPRECIATES THE THOUSANDS OF MARS
VOLUNTEERS, PAST AND PRESENT, WHO HAVE BEEN INTEGRAL TO THE SUCCESS
OF MARS. NCTAMS LANT WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED OF TRANSITION EFFORTS AND
REQUESTS YOUR ASSISTANCE TO HELP START THIS NEW CHAPTER IN MARS
OPERATIONS.
8. NCTAMS LANT POC: BO LINDFORS, COMM 757-443-9055, DSN 312-646-9055,
BO.LINDFORS@NAVY.MIL AND CHRIS JENSEN, COMM: 757-443-9063, DSN:
312-646-9063, CHRISTOPHER.J.JENSE1@NAVY.MIL.
9. FCC/C10F POC: MICHAEL KEGLEY, COMM: 301-688-2387,
MICHAEL.KEGLEY@NAVY.MIL.
10. U.S. ARMY MARS POC: PAUL ENGLISH, COMM: 254-947-3141,
PAUL.A.ENGLISH.CIV@MAIL.MIL.
11. U.S. AIR FORCE MARS POC: DAVID STAPCHUK, COMM: 618-229-5964,
DAVID.STAPCHUK.2@US.AF.MIL.
12. INTERNET RELEASE IS AUTHORIZED.//
BT
NNNN

The NATO alliance will reduce by half the number of planes patrolling around the Baltic Sea beginning in September despite continuing provocations from Russian military aircraft, according to reports.

“Our military commanders assess that the posture is appropriate and adequate,” stated NATO spokesperson Carmen Romero.

So far this year across Europe NATO aircraft have scrambled 250 times in response to Russian military air activity.

NATO aircraft intercepted some 150 Russian military aircraft in the Baltic in 2014.
Another NATO official stated the planned reduction in the Baltic Air Patrol Mission does not represent “a change in our signal to Russia” and claims that there has recently been a slight decrease in Russian air activity in the region, although Russian military aircraft continue to fly at a high operational tempo there as well as over other parts of Europe.

Other long-range Russian flights have been observed near the Alaskan air defense zone in April and July.

Russia’s accelerated air activity, far beyond its rates of operation since the fall of the Soviet Union, has not been without cost to the Russian military. Since June, eight aircraft, including some aging TU-95 bombers, have crashed under various circumstances.

Tehran. August 8.IRNA - On Sunday, Russian naval flotilla to enter the territorial waters of Iran and moored to the dock in the 4th naval zone, according to the Department of Public Relations of the Iranian Navy.

The expedition of the Russian Navy is aimed at strengthening the friendly relations between Iran and Russia. The report emphasized that the Caspian Sea should be a sea of ​​peace and friendship.This is the third time the Russian naval fleet comes into the territorial waters of Iran.

Earlier, in 2007 and 2014 two other Russian naval fleet had carried out such an expedition for the strengthening of the Russian-Iranian friendly relations.

Meanwhile, in 2013 the Iranian naval fleet came into the territorial waters of Russia and the port of Astrakhan.

"Joshua James began his life-saving career at 15 and saved more than 600 lives," said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft. "What better namesake for a ship and crew that will serve our Nation with pride for the next half century saving lives, stopping smugglers, maintaining safety and security in the Arctic and wherever national objectives may require."During the ceremony, Zukunft, Charlene James Benoit, of Milford, Connecticut, the ship's sponsor and great-great niece of the ship's namesake, and James' commanding officer, Capt. Andrew J. Tiongson, a native of Somerville, ordered the ship to "come to life", officailly appointing James as an active cutter in the Coast Guard's fleet. James's crew will play a vital role in the Coast Guard's ability to secure our nation's maritime domain and borders, save lives, interdict illicit traffic, alien smugglers and illegal aliens, and protect ports, waterways and natural resources.The cutter is named for Capt. Joshua James, a native of Hull, who is credited with saving more than 600 lives during his time with the U.S. Life-Saving Service, which merged with the Revenue Cutter Service in 1915 to create the modern U.S. Coast Guard.James is the fifth of eight planned National Security Cutters and the second to be homeported on the East Coast. The James will be homeported in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Fleet Law Enforcement Training Center.The time-honored tradition of commissioning a ship dates back to ancient times, and ceremonially completes the cycle from christening and launching to full status as a cutter in the United States Coast Guard.

The Priyom.org website is reporting that the Russian Buzzer is not transmitted from Kerro anymore, new military marker on 4525 USB.

"The Russian military network The Buzzer on 4625 kHz is not transmitted from the Kerro transmitter site ("Irtysh") anymore. It seems that the Russians are reverting to their old structure, when the frequency 4625 kHz was only used for the Moscow Military District. At present, The Buzzer appears to be broadcast only from the 69th Communication Hub in Naro Fominsk.

"A new military marker, similar to The Buzzer, The Pip, The Squeaky Wheel and S5292, was discovered on the frequency 4525 kHz, starting in August. However, no messages/signals have been caught from that frequency yet."